Friday, March 6, 5-9pm 2020
Stop by on Friday to watch a master metalsmith at work performing hollow forming and anticlastic hammering in the style of master metalsmiths Georg Jensen and Hekki Seppa. In this exciting night of demos you can see how Alexandra controls the movement of the metal using just a few hammers and stakes. Demos at the top of the hour - 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. First Friday is a fun, family-friendly event that happens every month. Come explore the fabulous new Liberty Public Market, stroll through shops and visit working artist studios to see what's new - all for FREE. Anneville is just one of over 80 artist studios, galleries, museums and other art destinations open for this monthly event. With a dozen fabulous restaurants within walking distance, it makes a great evening out. And, we've got free parking! Get directions.

We had so much fun at our First Friday Valentine's Party on February 7th! 💝At one point we had a full house of people excitedly looking at jewelry and classes! It was wonderful to see some dear friends and students and everyone enjoyed the free gift (sparkle-etch valentines) and the chocolate cookies. Even though we had a double-blind raffle with about 30 entries, all of the winners were students! Go fig! Special thanks goes out to Yvonne Dao of @yvonnedaojewels and Yoko Rover of Yoko Rover Jewelry @yokorover for volunteering and bringing the bling - your displays are now officially fantastic. Save the date - March 6th - for our next First Friday Open Studio when we’ll be hosting metalsmith extraordinaire Alexandra Hart showing us how anticlastic raising works. Join us - our First Friday open studio events are always free, no rsvp required. 

Join us for a festive evening celebrating love of all stripes with music, snacks, a jewelry sale and a raffle featuring fun Valentine’s goodies. Free gift wrapping on all purchases and the first 15 visitors get a special Valentine surprise! Peace, Love and Mokume Gane ~ Ame & Anne

Lab Monitoring is a great for working on your projects, making new friends and enjoying Liberty Station  - all of which you can do while helping us provide more hours for our users. Monitoring usually requires little more than being friendly and we are close by if questions arise. Duties including opening for the day, assisting lab users and closing for the day. We provide hands-on training and offer several 3 hour shifts per week. First Friday Volunteers help at our monthly open studio event. Volunteers can sit or stand and have time before, during and after to enjoy the delights of the evening. Duties including opening for the evening and greeting guests. We provide hands-on training and offer two 3 hour shifts (5:30-8:30pm). The best part is that for every Lab Monitor or First Friday Vollie hour, you get one lab hour credited to your account! Learn more and sign up.

For December's First Friday we hosted three artists in the Lab, Anne did mokume gane chisel demos in her studio AND we had two tables outside! Upstairs in the Lab, Yvonne of Yvonne Dao Jewels created a great display of her space-inspired work while Yoko of Yoko R Creations showed off her pieces (including her great whale shark bracelet) and artist & instructor Jessica Andersen offered her one-of-a-kind art jewelry and beautiful ornaments. Meanwhile, downstairs ...

... our hearty instructor Jules Monroe (along with her trusty studio dog Jazz) braved the cold alongside Seaglass Queen Valerie Safford to merrily greet people at our table in the outdoor bazaar. Jules showed off her fume patina earrings and new water-cast seaglass pendants while Val offered her glimmering designs featuring San Diego seaglass. Throughout the evening we had fun guests, making for a busy night with quite a few sales. We also had a bunch of VIP visitors including the fabulous Irene Wetsman of IJD Designs, our own Alix Hart, Val's mom (who was a hoot!) and Irene's fabulous husband and dog...along with many other friends, both old and new. By the time we toddled out, a big cauldron of hot spiced cider had been dispensed to happy minglers and we'd all heard enough holiday music to launch us merrily into the season. Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make it a success and to all of our wonderful visitors ... happy holidays!

Hear ye, hear ye minstrels, maidens and mercenaries, conserve your gold coin for our Merry Maker's Market. On December 6th you'll find our village stalls both inside and out festooned with bright holly, sparkling lights, fragrant pine boughs and a full complement of cheery makers proffering their sparkling silver, gold, brass and bejeweled wares. Take in the festively crisp night air (perhaps, I mean it is San Diego) of Liberty Station's outdoor European-style Christmas market where we'll have a stall or step lightly to the second floor of Barracks 15 to revel in medieval holiday charm as you browse our two small shops. Find the perfect holiday gift for that special baker, butcher or cobbler in your life or pick out a one-of-a-kind treasure for yourself. First Friday is Liberty Station's monthly open studio event so in addition to visiting us you can explore the Liberty Public Market, visit nearby shops and studios and catch live entertainment - all with easy parking. Bring a friend or make one here, either way it will be an evening of magical wintry delights - we hope you'll join us!  Get details and directions.

Roughly 40 brave souls accepted the challenge to open EVERY drawer of the Toolbox of Terror at our October First Friday open studio. Not everyone who tried waw able to finish, but those who showed fortitude were richly rewarded. As each victim, er I mean guest, entered they were greeted by Ame or impromptu volunteer Jean and asked if they were ready to ACCEPT THE CHALLENGE. If they answered yes we led them over to the TOOLBOX OF TERROR and wished them good luck. We then retired across the room to listen to their screams (and a good amount of laughter at our cheesy display). Successful adventurers were rewarded with the choice of asking our extremely vintage Magic 8 Ball a question or consulting our Crystal Ball. Every visitor left with a goody from our treat basket - either candy or stickers. Continue on for photos and ... if you're brave enough ... view the TOOLBOX OF TERROR ITSELF!

We've pried open the crypt and invited a host of horrors out to play for First Friday on October 4th! Stop by between 5-9 pm for all sorts of spooky delights including a reanimated BOGO special. Don't miss the famous interactive Toolbox of Terror ... Bwah Ha Ha! First Friday (formerly known as Friday Night Liberty) is Liberty Station's monthly open studio event so in addition to visiting us you can explore the Liberty Public Market, visit nearby shops and studios and catch live entertainment - all with easy parking. Whether you bring a friend or make one here, it's one of San Diego's premiere, free, family-friendly arts events. Get details and directions.

Hundreds of visitors attended the live concert, open artist studios, gallery viewings, food and wine at September's First Friday. This was an "Amplified" month, which brought another opportunity for our students to offer their pieces at the Local Bazaar outdoor sale. Beth Peckham, Thida Key and Yoko Rover really pulled out the stops to finish some great work and create beautiful table displays. Meanwhile up in the Lab, Jeff Fulkerson offered some of his beautiful jewelry along with colorful cabochons and Anne demo'd mokume gane raising. We had some great visitors too including past ring clients and current students Cecilia & Gina, Pat & Marie and Yvonne - who arrived with little Zinnia, Sophia and Christof too! Thank you SO MUCH to our dedicated students who staffed the table representing the Lab, to Jeff for being on hand to explain his upcoming class offerings and to everyone who stopped by the say hello. 

Stop by Anneville Jewelry Lab on the First Friday in August (8/2/19) to browse beautiful cabochons and explore the world of semi-precious gemstones with master lapidarist Michael Hendrix of Minarex. Michael cuts each stone by hand in his San Diego County studio. Each creation is unique, like a miniature painting full of nature's colors and textures, ready to be part of a unique jewelry creation. Not a jeweler? No worries - our jewelers will be on hand to discuss a custom commission to set your newfound gem. Or even better, you can take one of our upcoming classes and learn to set it yourself!​ 

Then head over to Anneville Studio to meet steel and gold artist Bette Barnett! She'll will have an array of work on display and be discussing her fascinating Keum Boo technique and more. ​First Friday is a fun, family-friendly event that happens every month. Come explore the fabulous new Liberty Public Market, stroll through shops and visit working artist studios to see what's new - all for FREE. Anneville is just one of over 80 artist studios, galleries, museums and other art destinations open for this monthly event. With a dozen fabulous restaurants within walking distance, it makes a great evening out. And, we've got free parking! Hope to see you soon. More info about Friday Night Liberty can be found at NTC at Liberty Station. Get directions.

Our July #FirstFriday #ShopAndSwap#OpenStudio was a big success! We had about 75 visitors come through to enjoy browsing our Maker's Rummage Sale (which extended out into the hallway), watching @alexandrahartmfa doing her fascinating #anticlasticraising demos and @paparon1943 demonstrating his #FrenchMarquetry work. We also had Abby selling her beautiful #cabochons, Susan with cabochons and lots more, and generous donations of goodies by Karen F. and Karen R. So far we’ve raised almost $300 for #JewishFamilyServices in support of the Downtown Migrant Shelter - and we’re not done yet! (More on that in the next post). Super-duper big thanks to the wonderful Joanne & Herb Hein @joannehein and @growinggreeninteractions for their fabulous set up, cashiering and MC Services! And now for the winners of our JFS fundraiser raffle ....

We had a wonderful turnout for our first Anneville Jewelry Lab Student Sale on Friday, June 7th. We were blessed with good weather and (thanks to Anne's swift action) a great location on a patio right near the Jewelry Lab. Our student artists created appealing displays of their own items and then worked together to quickly create an inviting, u-shaped exhibit that well represented the Lab as an organization. We were a bit concerned by the late-breaking detail that we'd have no electricity (gah!) but we gathered up our camping lights and bravely continued. Meanwhile, up in the Lab, Anne did some mokume gane patterning demos and we had a great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. ​We were thrilled by a visit from our new instructor, Alexandra Hart as well as our dear friend Helen Shirk (each accompanied by their handsome beaus). It was great to see students from the lab and different classes coming together to meet for the first time. I'm so impressed by how much work and thoughtfulness everyone put in to making this event a success. Be sure to view our fun photos.  

Pendant by Alyssa Ihle, pendant by Cindy McQuade, Mokume gane rings by Karen Rood and Karen working on a square wire bracelet in The Lab. Click any image for a larger view.